Outside Politics

1st November 1998

Long wait

It was the long vigil, as usual. The always late President kept them, distinguished legal eagles and eager beagles waiting, and waiting for one and a half hours last week at the SAARCLAW conference.

But they were comforted with the words of a local lawyer who said that they are in the company of British Royalty, American Ambassadors, Japanese aid donors, Sri Lankan Ministers, businessmen, journalists, anybody who is anybody.

The smart local organisers had arranged a cultural show in between the scheduled time of arrival of the chief guest and the actual time of arrival. The dancers and the dances went on and on till the Great Leader arrived.

The welcoming party however stood waiting till she arrived. It was such a long wait that a member of the organising committee suggested to the Justice Minister who was standing for over an hour to take a seat for his legs must be aching given the fact that he had sprained his ankle jet dashing across North America, Cambridge and London recently.

His friend the Attorney General butted in. "He's practising for the Budget speech", he said.

The Budget beware, is on Thursday.

The Prince

Some said he looked a sickly green others that he was blue in the face. But at popular giant John's double decade "do", invigorated by Vegas Cabaret by night and Californian sunshine by day, Prince Charming was in fine fettle.

At kick off, it was all bonhomie. But when invited Blues departed; it was time to do battle. First to feel the lance was our own El Cid (The Charleton Heston movie in which the mounted corpse of the Spanish Warrior gallops among petrified Moors!)

"Even as heads of government, neither of my parents took parades on horseback. A flag raised in an empty town, another thousand soldiers killed, champagne toasts, what tragicomedy is this?" thundered Ali Baba.

Having hoisted the hapless Sapumal Kumaraya with his own petard, guns swivelled. Some weeks past, in the locality, noisy green and blue processions crossed. It was rumoured that AB beat a hasty retreat. Not so, he growled. Bandaranaikes don't run away! Had I stayed and in the ensuing melee, my security opened fire, killing someone, Wattala would have been torched. The allusion to Ratnapura was apt. Memories are all too fresh of last year's untimely demise, inferno and resultant statue!

Most agreed. An aggressive comeback by the Prince Charming. Charges squarely met, opponents demolished - no ring of deception here!

Jungle Telegraph

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